Home environment and adaptive social behavior among premature, low birth weight children: alternative models of environmental action.

Used data from 465 premature, low birth weight children representing three major sociocultural groups (Caucasian, African American, Hispanic) to examine the relation between children's home environments and their adaptive social behavior. Results showed low to moderate associations between scores on the HOME Inventory at 1 and 3 years and scores on two measures of adaptive social behavior at 30 to 36 months, the Adaptive Social Behavior Inventory, and observations of mother-child interaction in a structured laboratory situation. Results indicated that responsive, nurturant care at both 1 and 3 years are related to child adaptive social behavior, as are cognitively stimulating experiences and materials. However, canonical correlational analysis indicated that only Acceptance and Variety of Experience, measured at age 3, and Variety of Experience measured at age 1 accounted for independent amounts of variance in adaptive social behavior as perceived by mothers. Also, only sociocultural group status and Learning Materials at 36 months contributed to the prediction of persistence and enthusiasm as observed in the laboratory setting.

A reexamination of the association between HOME scores and income.

This study, which represents another look at the relationship between the HOME Inventory and income, uses data from the Infant Health and Development Program (IHDP), a multisite, longitudinal study of low-birth-weight preterm infants. Two versions of the HOME Inventory were used: The Infant/Toddler (IT-HOME), at 12 months of age, and the Early Childhood (EC-HOME), at 36 months of age. Predictor variables were income, ethnicity, maternal education, parity, gestational age, marital status, maternal age, and site. HOME scores were positively correlated with income. However, after controlling for the other variables in the models, the portion of the variance in HOME scores uniquely explained by income was quite low (IT-HOME, 5.1%; EC-HOME, 4.2%). Finally, the relationship between HOME scores and four child characteristics (cognitive development, growth, maladaptive behavior, and social competence) measured when the child was 36 months old were investigated using correlation. The results indicated that the quality of the home environment, as measured by the HOME Inventory, is related to children's development.

Impact of day care on the child.

In the world of day-care research, the status of our knowledge is sufficiently shaky that we must continue to keep an open mind about the service. The knowledge base is growing rapidly, but the conceptual structure that supports it is flimsy and insubstantial. Fortunately, current research efforts are improving this situation. Regardless of whether we like or dislike day care, it is, like the family, here to stay. That realization alone should strengthen our resolve not to compromise on the type of service we create. We have to continue to identify parameters of quality and become good matchmakers in terms of child care, family, and child characteristics. Through such efforts, a network of educare programs that will foster favorable development in children can become a national and global reality.

The HOME inventory: a new scale for families of pre- and early adolescent children with disabilities.

A preliminary form of a new version of the Home Observation for Measurement of the Environment (HOME) is presented. It is designed for use with families of children aged 10-15. The 80-item preliminary version of the Preadolescent HOME (PA-HOME) was field tested on 117 children with varying disabilities. The 80 items were selected from a pool of over 250 items by means of several field tests and accompanying item analyses. Both factor analyses and item analyses were used to help pare down items and produce a scale with acceptable psychometric properties. The psychometric properties of the PA-HOME are quite similar to those reported for the other three versions of the HOME Inventory. It appears to be a reasonably reliable scale with moderate correlations with other measures of the family environment, such as SES, social support, and marital stability. It has low to moderate correlations with measures of child competence in this sample of children with disabilities. The correlations are of the same general magnitude of correlations between the Infant-Toddler, Early Childhood, and Middle Childhood versions of HOME in samples of younger children with disabilities.

Uses of the HOME inventory for families with handicapped children.

The use of the HOME Inventory with families of children with handicaps was described. Normative and psychometric information for the Infant-Toddler, Early Childhood, and Middle Childhood versions of the Inventory was provided for groups of children with diverse handicaps and groups of children with mental retardation. Moderate correlations were observed between HOME and family social status measures, minimal between HOME and life stress measures, and low to moderate between HOME and social support measures. Low to moderate correlations were observed between HOME and child competence measures.

Home environment and school performance: a ten-year follow-up and examination of three models of environmental action.

The home environments of 42 10- and 11-year-old children were examined when they were infants and again during middle childhood. Significant correlations were observed between home environments measured at both 2 years and 10 years and the children's SRA achievement test scores and their classroom behavior. However, the home environment at 6 months was only related to a limited number of classroom behaviors. Partial correlations were used to test 3 models of environmental action: Model I (primacy of early experience), Model II (predominance of the contemporary environment), Model III (cumulative effects in stable environments). Strongest relations were noted for the contemporary environment, but all 3 models received some support. Correlations between HOME scores and children's competence in middle childhood revealed a complex portrait that was not explainable with reference to a single model of environmental action. The version of the HOME Inventory used with families of elementary school children is also introduced.

Developmental intervention: a pediatric clinical review.

We have attempted to review developmental intervention for pediatricians in a way that is of clinical relevance to primary care pediatricians. In so doing, we chose not to evaluate certain topics such as therapeutic intervention for handicapped children or center-based educational programs because these have been adequately addressed elsewhere. It is clear that pediatricians have a unique and important role to play in developmental intervention for the following reasons: pediatricians have easy and routinely accepted access to infants and families in the prenatal, perinatal, and preschool periods: pediatricians possess a socially accepted role of authority; and pediatricians can integrate understanding of the child's health and developmental status within the context of the family and social environment to make clinical interpretation regarding the child's developmental status and prognosis. Pediatricians are thus in the best position to convince parents of their impact on their child's development. The following general roles have been identified for pediatricians. First, pediatricians should be aware of the child's biologic status and family environmental situation and the relative degree of risk for developmental problems. This clinical awareness, in combination with the use of appropriate screening instruments of the child's development and family environment, will allow clinical judgment regarding the frequency and type of child health supervision, the need for further diagnostic evaluation, and the need for referral to intervention programs and other resources. Second, the pediatrician should develop an approach for developmental intervention for all children, whatever their degree of biological risk. This review of medical, educational, and psychological literature demonstrate the following recurring important themes as goals for primary intervention: Improve parental understanding of normal child development and developmental expectations. Assist parent's understanding of the individual developmental characteristics and temperamental style of their child. Promote parental sensitivity to the social nature of infant behaviors. Encourage parent responsiveness to the social behaviors. Improve parental feelings of confidence and competence to affect their child's development. Pediatricians can be influential in supporting structural changes that can have beneficial effects on children's development. Support of humanization of obstetric and nursery practices, and the increased use of child health supervision to parents in groups are examples of such efforts.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Experiences in day care and social competence among maltreated children.

The experience of 39 preschool-age maltreated children from 13 child care facilities was examined to determine the extent to which the children's social development was related to the quality of day-care service. Maltreated children assigned by the Arkansas Department of Social Services to three different types of child care facilities were observed: specialized day-care programs, regular day-care centers and family day homes. The children scored below average in intelligence and were rated by their parents as displaying higher than normal rates of disturbed behavior. While no comparison group of non-maltreated children was included in the study, observations of the maltreated children in the child care setting revealed substantially more positive than negative social behavior. The children were reasonably effective in interacting with adult caregivers in day care. The maltreated children were also productive in most encounters with peers. Ratings of the quality of care received in day care were significantly correlated with the children's social competence in child care. Aspects of social behavior in maltreated children were related to the organization of the program, the physical facilities, traits of the caregiver, and caregiver expectations for the children.

The relation of infants' home environments to achievement test performance in first grade: a follow-up study.

In 2 earlier investigations, we found that scores on the HOME Inventory administered during the first 2 years of life were substantially correlated with intelligence test scores at ages 3 and 4 1/2. In the current investigation, HOME scores in first 2 years showed similar relations to SRA Achievement Test scores during the first grade. In general, findings from this study were like those from the earlier investigations except that the subscale, "maternal responsivity," showed a weaker relation to achievement than IQ; while the "variety of stimulation" scale showed a stronger relation. Of all the HOME subscales, "play materials" revealed the strongest correlation with first-grade achievement. When 12-month Bayley MDI scores were partialed out of the HOME/achievement relation, little reduction was noted in the magnitude of the correlation; however, when 3-year IQ or subsequent HOME scores were partialed out, little residual correlation was noted.

The relationship between twelve-month home stimulation and school achievement.

Home Observation for Measurement of the Environment (HOME) was designed to reflect parental support of early cognitive and socioemotional development. 12-month HOME scores were correlated with elementary school achievement, 5--9 years later. 50 low-income children were rank ordered by a weighted average of centile estimates of achievement test scores, letter grades, and curriculum levels in reading and math. 24 children were classified as having significant school achievement problems. The HOME total score correlated significantly, r = .37, with school centile scores among the low-income families. The statistically more appropriate contingency table analysis revealed a 68% correct classification rate and a significantly reduced error rate over random or blanket prediction. The results supported the predictive value of the 12-month HOME for school achievement among low-income families. In an additional sample of 21 middle-income families, there was insufficient variability among HOME scores to allow prediction. The HOME total scores were highly correlated, r = .86, among siblings tested at least 10 months apart.

Home observation for measurement of the environment: a revision of the preschool scale.

Information pertaining to a revision of the Caldwell HOME Inventory for use with families of children ages 3 to 6 was presented. Factor and item analyses were used as a basis for reducing the number of items from 80 to 55. The items were clustered into eight subscales. Kuder-Richardson 20 coefficients for the scale ranged from .53 to .93. Concurrent and predictive validity studies indicated that the HOME scales significantly correlated with IQ (as high as r = .58). Low to moderate correlations were obtained between HOME scores and SES measures, with significant correlations ranging from .30 to .65.

Home observation for measurement of the environment: a validation study of screening efficiency.

Home environments of 91 6-month-old infants were assessed with the Home Observation for Measurement of the Environment (HOME) Inventory. Multiple discriminant functions composed of the six subscale scores from the HOME Inventory were used to predict whether a child would be low IQ (below 70), low average (70 to 89), or average to superior (90 and above) at age 3 years. The mean vector of Home inventory subscales for the three IQ groups was significantly different (p less than .01). Significant univariate effects were observed for three HOME Inventory subscales: organization of the physical and temporal environment, provision of appropriate play materials, and maternal involvement with child. The discriminant function of HOME Inventory subscale scores correctly predicted 71 percent of all children who scored below 70 IQ. Results attest to the usefulness of the HOME Inventory in a comprehensive program of screening for developmental delay.